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more drugs - depression/bipolar/schizophrenia

Posted , 5 users are following.

screaminbanshee
screaminbanshee

[color=indigo:37cc28ba05][/color:37cc28ba05] :? I was just wondering if anyone out there is on the same combination of drugs as me? At the moment I am taking Depakote 2000mg a day, Venlafaxine 225mg a day and Seroquel 75mg a day. I have been diagnosed with everything under the sun but still query wether medication works. Since my late teens (20 odd yrs ago) I have had episodes of so called depression. My latest psych thinks that I possibly have a form of bipolar. During my latest episode I was having extreme fits of :x frustration/ :evil: anger/ :twisted: violence hence all the meds. Start with Venlafaxine, add in Depakote and now the Seroquel. I must admit though since starting the Seroquel I haven't felt like flying off the handle.I'm interested to hear from anyone else on any of the above drugs.

L & S :devil: screamin :?

0 likes, 5 replies

5 Replies

  • stephen25963
    stephen25963 screaminbanshee

    Posted

    I've been on almost the same combo - Depakote, Venlafaxine and Zyprexa (Olanzapine) which is basically stronger, longer actng Seroquel.

    I remained on it for quite a while.  I did not like this combo.

    It sounds like you might suffer from bi-polar affective disorder, but unless you have periods of elevated mood and troughs of "depressed" times in a cycle it may be another condition.  Doctors are far from perfect, and some of them are clueless when it comes to medications and mental health.

    If you doc diagnosed you bi-polar, it seems very strange to start treating you with Venlafaxine only.  That's pretty much unheard of as anti-depressants are commonly known to aggravate bi-polar.  There is always some kind of mood-stabilzer used - whether it's Lithium or Depakote, or the other classes of drugs like seroquel.  You are taking a pretty high dose of Depakote considering you're also taking Seroquel.  My gut feeling is you're on a lousey combination of meds, and probably this is making things worse for you.  Talk to your doc, and if they are not willing to look at changing the regimen, you should find a better doctor if things aren't working well.

     

  • jghut
    jghut screaminbanshee

    Posted

    I have bipolar.  I took lithium for the longest and after having a problem with it, I was prescribed some of the anticonvulsive drugs like Depakote, Tegretol, and Lamictol.  I did not like any of them!  My hair was falling out and I gained weight with the Depakote.  With Tegretol, I had double vision and that was scary.  I felt really dopey with Lamictol and was afraid of it when a friend of mine wound up in ICU with Stephens-Johnson syndrone from it.  I was prescribed 600 mg. of Seroquel and 50 mg. of Zoloft ten years ago and have had no problems with it.  The Seroquel is the best thing for depression  I have taken and when I did try to reduce the dose I became depressed  and my sleep was impaired.
    • stephen25963
      stephen25963 jghut

      Posted

      I've known people who swear by Seroquel.  I've taken it on short term, and as I mentioned, it's more potent and longer acting cousin Zyprexa, for long periods of time.

      I really think it boils down to the fact that we're all born with a different set of genes, and our brains and our temperments vary significantly from person to person.  Some people respond great to SSRIs, some don't.  Some respond great to Serquel and other atypical anti-psychotics, while for another person, it's a nightmare.  So, from everything I have learned about the condition - and like most I studied hard because I was desperate to learn more so maybe I could figure out how to get out of misery (strong motivator), "different strokes for different folks". Or in this case, different meds for different folks.  We're all human, but we're not all the same.

  • maureen_25289
    maureen_25289 screaminbanshee

    Posted

    I was put on Depakote 2yrs ago it was great for my bipolar but I had to have it changed to lithium which I was on when I was first diagnosed 12yrs ago the reason was Depakote started making my hair fall out and was getting really bad that my scalp was becoming visable. It's great now though on Lithium and while lithium is great for the manic side of bipolar it doesn't do much for the depression side so im having Lamictol added next visit to my psychiatrist next month. I am also on Lyrica for anxiety which I have been reducing these past months to wean off it as I don't believe I have anxiety now and it's a mighty difficult drug to get off.
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